Building & Laboratory

ImaginationLancaster is based in a brand new £10m building on the Lancaster University campus.

Completed in October 2010, the timber-framed building includes performance, event and teaching space for Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA), a base for the HighWire Doctoral Training Centre and purpose-built laboratory, workshop and office space for ImaginationLancaster.

The first building on a UK university campus to achieve BREEAM's highest rating for sustainability, the LICA building has been designed from the outset to have a low environmental impact. The 5000 square metre structure benefits from solar power generation, rainwater capture and occupancy sensors to manage energy usage. The timber structure of the building is wrapped in a translucent cladding which both protects the underlying structure and filters light into the interior.

The three-story structure includes a partitionable 600 square metre event space with hangar doors to the plaza outside, a 'black box' installation space and open plan office space for both ImaginationLancaster and students of the HighWire Doctoral Training Centre.

The Imagination Laboratory

A 200 square metre workshop and facilitation space, the Imagination Laboratory is a spacious, flexible environment for bringing people together. The lab includes a wide range of tools for structuring activities and creating problem-solving environments. These range from reconfigurable physical furniture to 90 inch multi-touch interactive screens.

The lab provides a setting for conventional workshop events, with presentation screens, boardroom tables and breakout spaces, yet it also provides a space to explore problem-solving and human interaction. The flexibility of the lab extends throughout the building, with our open-plan offices upstairs and standalone meeting pods set in woodland just outside the building. Combined, these facilities allow us to explore the role of space and structure in collaborative activities and design some unique and highly creative events.